City Of Cairns A Natural Beauty

May 4, 1986|By Judy Williamson, Dallas Morning News

CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA — Travelers planning a trip to the Land Down Under would do well to consider the Cairns area in an Australian itinerary.

Far North Queensland's greatest appeal, of course, is its access to the Great Barrier Reef. But lesser known attractions are the warm and gregarious local population; its offbeat history; outstanding game fishing (''the best black marlin fishing in the world,'' says actor Lee Marvin, a frequent visitor), and a bounty of scenic splendors away from the reef.

For the large part, visitors make their own fun, and residents and non- residents alike say they like this part of Australia for the lack of Waikiki-ish highrise hotels, McDonald's arches and a blatant campaign for the tourist dollar. Entertainment, therefore, is purely natural: lolling in the sun, snorkeling, sailing in the Coral Sea. Unless vacationers go for special interests, such as scuba diving or deep-sea fishing, they should allow two or three days tops in the Cairns area.

Cairns itself can be discovered in a half-day walking tour, all day if visitors stop and dawdle or enjoy a leisurely lunch of barramunda (a local white fish) and cold white wine.

Bathed in pastel colors, buildings in the town are of Victorian gingerbread design with wrought-iron accents found occasionally. Storefronts are limited to newsstands, drugstores and souvenir shops -- selling T-shirts, shell products and boomerangs, the national souvenir -- and shops geared to the tropical climate.

A Woolworth's along the main drag sells floral cotton rompers, bathing suits and postcards, along with deli items for beachside picnics. Across the street, underwater cameras dominate the windows of a camera shop, and drugstores on both sides offer a dazzling array of sunscreen products, after- sun care and sunglasses.

Bona-fide tourist attractions in Cairns are water-related as well. Two in particular are worth visiting: Windows on the Reef, in the shadow of the Cairns Yacht Club within walking distance of the city center, and Reef World, also on the waterfront.

During a 45-minute show, Windows on the Reef takes visitors on a 100-foot simulated dive along a 120-foot reef of real coral where they learn the history of the reef from 450 million years ago to 1 million years into its future.

Reef World offers displays of live reef fish, turtles, giant grouper, crocodiles and other specimens. Feedings are daily at 2 p.m., the best time to visit.

Other Cairns attractions include the Laroc Coral Jewelry Factory, offering jewelry fashioned from reef coral for show and sale, and the Cairns Historical Museum, which deals with the natural and chronological history of the area.

A second museum, the Heritage Homestead, further explores the history of North Queensland. But visitors to it have to travel up into the highlands, easily accomplished by taking a ride on the Kuranda Railway.

Construction began on the railway in 1885 to serve the mining fields and Tablelands around Cairns; during World War II it was used to transport U.S. and Australian troops. Improved roads after the war resulted in the decline of the railway and its use since December 1984 as a tourist attraction.

The ride begins at the Freshwater Connection station in Freshwater, eight miles west of Cairns. The development includes a 380-seat restaurant in which diners are seated in stationary vintage railroad cars. An historical museum relating to the train is scheduled to open later this year.

The ride from Freshwater to Kuranda is only 90 minutes long (with a 9:30 a.m. departure), but you'll want a little time in Kuranda for sightseeing and probably lunch. You can return by the narrow-gauge train or via a motorcoach on the modern highway that traverses the range.

The train trip offers the best views of the region, including sugar-cane fields, beaches, the reef (including Green Island) and towering rain forests, which are the biggest surprise to the visitor.

A hostess offering commentary to passengers in the restored carriage says (possibly because so much is made of the reef itself) little is heard of nature's handiwork above sea level here.

She also offers snacks on the train that stops to allow passengers a better look at sights along the way, including several palm-tree nurseries and 900-foot Barron Falls. At Barron Falls, the train stops long enough for shutterbugs to walk around for photos.

The train station at Kuranda takes top billing over the other attractions in the one-pub village. Some tourists ride the train only as a means to the end -- the train station, that is.

It's the northernmost railway station in Australia and the first (1915) to be built out of concrete. More important, it's a repository of natural orchids, giant ferns and flowers of all kinds, lovingly cared for by several generations of the station's staff.